Test 2 Tenses

A Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

1 I think Mr Wilson in this school since 2005 or maybe earlier.
a teaches  b is teaching  c has taught  d taught
2 Tenses

2 I stopped watching the game before the end, but I thought we .
a had won  b have won  c have been winning  d will have won
3 That’s very sad news. If sooner, I would have tried to help.
a I know  b I’ll know  c I knew  d I’d known
4 My sister me once or twice since she’s been living in Athens.
a was messaging  b has messaged  c has been messaging  d had messaged
5 According to the memo, we’re the meeting at noon tomorrow.
a having  b have  c going have  d will have

B Identify the one underlined expression (A, B, C or D) that must be changed in order to
correct the sentence.
1 My next door neighbour, who is A
usually shy and doesn’t
B
say much, isC being very friendly this morning
and has
D
a big party tonight for all his friends.
2 Martin was
A
used to smoke a lot when he was
B
studying, but since he has
C
been working in the bank,
he hasn’t
D
been smoking as much.
3 People were
A
slipping on the wet floor because no one had
B
cleaned up the water that all of us
were
C
knowing had
D
leaked from the coffee machine.
4 When you will
A
make a promise, you tell
B
someone that you will
C
definitely give them something or
that you definitely will
D
or won’t do something.
5 As we were
A
entering the building, I noticed
B
a sign that someone has
C
put above the door
which said,
D
‘Be alert.’

C Complete this text by choosing only one of the verbs from each pair for each space.
had decided was walking hadn’t changed thinking
decide walk wasn’t changing thought

were looking whispered saw wasn’t wearing

are looking was whispering see didn’t wear

I had a very embarrassing moment last Monday. I 1 to school

and 2 about the weekend when I noticed that people

3 at me in a strange way. I couldn’t understand it, and just

when I 4 I was imagining things, I 5

my best friend. ‘Look down!’ he 6 to me. Then I understood.

I 7 any shoes. I 8 out of my fluffy slippers.

3 Oxford Practice Grammar • Advanced • Test 2

 2 Tenses

D Complete each sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the
sentence above it.
1 We are spending £300 on repairs before we sell the car.
By the time we sell the car, we 

2 I never had to think about my health before this.

This is the first 

3 Juliet started working here about six years ago.

Juliet has 

4 I didn’t think it would be good, but it’s really bad.

It’s even worse 

5 I haven’t talked to my parents since Christmas.

It was Christmas when 

E Complete this text with these verbs.

believe holds be experiencing had have been changing
will keep lets is happening have been have created

The world is getting warmer and the oceans are rising. Why 1 this

? One answer is that it could simply be part of a natural process.

After all, there 2 ice ages and long periods of warmth in the

past, so we could just 3 another warming trend. This kind of

answer 4 more supporters a few years ago. What scientists now

5 is that human activity is the cause. For more than 200 years,

humans 6 gradually the atmosphere, mainly

as a result of industrial pollution. We 7 an atmosphere around

the earth that, like a giant glass container, 8 heat from the sun

through and then 9 it in. 10 temperatures and

sea levels rising? The general answer is unfortunately, yes.

4 Oxford Practice Grammar • Advanced • Test 2